Last Hope
by BiJTheWriter
Summary: AU: All that Fitz wanted was his wife back. She was the love of his life, the mother his child, and the one person that held his world spinning on its axis. He just didn't know how long he could sit at her bedside, waiting for her, while staring into a perfect replica of her eyes on their daughter. (TUMBLR PROMPT)
1. Chapter 1

Another prompt, this time from **screengeniuz**. It's another one of my favorites and I'm still working on the additional parts so input is appreciated.

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**Olivia is terribly injured and put in a coma after an attempt on her life.**

The hospital room was silent except for the incessant beeping of the machine monitoring her heart rate. The machine that was once a beacon of hope that Olivia would live another day and she was fighting for her life was now just a painful reminder that she _hadn't_ woken up. That she _wasn't_ fighting.

"Are we going to be here long?"

A voice sounds from behind Fitz. He'd almost forgotten that he wasn't alone. It was easy to make everything disappear when he was here with her. He shakes his head, staring ahead at Olivia's frail body. She was already extremely thin when she was full of life but now that she wasn't, it seemed that her body was wasting away before his eyes.

"No…not _too_ long." Fitz shakes his head, trying to find the woman that he fell in love with within the feeble body in front of him. "I just had a bad day and needed to see her."

"Do you think that Momma knows when we're here? Do you think it makes her feel better, too?"

Fitz smiles at that question as his daughter climbs into the hospital bed and tucks herself into Olivia's side, wrapping her arms around her body as if she were really holding her.

"I like to think so." He replies softly, watching as his little girl laid her head on her mother's chest to listen to her heart beat.

It made his heartache to know that these were the moments that she would remember with her mother instead of the one's that were filled with laughter and joy. All of her memories would be of sterile hospital rooms and silence.

"Can you tell her a story?" Her voice sounds from where her face is tucked into Olivia's chest. "I like it when you read me stories, Daddy. It makes me feel better."

He couldn't and wouldn't deny her. Not when she looked at him with eyes that were the perfect replica of her mother's. It was hard at first, looking at his daughter only to see his wife staring back at him but now it was like a blessing. Her looks were the greatest tie that she would ever have to her.

"I don't really know any stories to tell her. Not any fun ones anyway."

"What about when I first talked? Lotsa people like stories about babies. Do you remember, Daddy?"

He smiles at her and takes a seat next to the bed, his hands immediately finding Olivia's to caress it as he spoke.

"Of course I remember. Your mom freaked out for a week because she was convinced that you were ready to talk and she didn't want to miss it. She just kept saying it over and over."

_"'Say Momma'. Fitz, don't laugh. I know she's going to say something. It's on the tip of her tongue. You know when she opens her mouth and she moves her head? She's ready to talk and she just can't get it out."_

_"Or maybe, just maybe, she's being a baby. You know, little humans that don't yet have control over all of their muscle functions."_

_He can practically hear her roll her eyes at him through the phone._

_"Fine. Don't take this seriously but you're going to miss it. Right, Lol." Her voice morphs into baby gibberish as she redirects her attention. "Daddy's gonna be jealous when you say 'Momma' first because I'm your favorite parent. Right? Say 'Momma'. 'Momma'."_

_Fitz shakes his head at her, listening to the baby murmur through the phone. Olivia had been at it for a week, completely convinced that their daughter was going to start talking soon. _

_"Well, I'm going to go. I should be home in the next hour. Don't bore, Lola too much with your crazy talk."_

_She scoffs at him, taking the phone off of the speaker function._

_"You know, she gets this from you. Taking her time to do things when she wants to do them."_

_"I think the name of the trait that you're looking for is called stubbornness and that's definitely a Pope trait if I've ever heard one."_

_"Lies, fairytales, and fallacies, Fitzgerald Grant."_

_He laughs at her cheekiness._

_"Whatever you say, Livvie. I love you both."_

_It's almost like he can feel her smile through the phone and then she's gone urging him to make it home in exactly an hour._

_Olivia's waiting for him at the door, absentmindedly twisting her curls through her fingers with one hand and holding the baby monitor tightly with the other. _

_"If you hold that thing any tighter you're going to break it."_

_She shakes her head at him, jumping a bit at his unexpected appearance. _

_"Lola should be waking up soon and I want to hear her call for me."_

_"You mean cry."_

_Olivia throws him a pointed look, irritated at the fact that he hadn't bought into her premonition but before she can say anything, small whimpers make their way through the receiver before growing into a full outcry._

_"I pumped after I put her down, can you get her a bottle from the fridge." _

_And then she turns, making her way up the stairs to attend to the baby leaving him with the receiver. Fitz makes his way to the kitchen, transferring the milk from the small containers that she stored them in and into a bottle before heating it up. He laughs and shakes his head at her voice coming through the speaker, softly encouraging their daughter to speak. 'Say 'Momma'. He hears her say repeatedly, slowing down so that Lola can pick up the syllables coming from her mouth. At this point it was no use trying to convince Olivia that she just wasn't ready to speak so he keeps quiet, picks up the bottle and grabs a burping cloth from the laundry room before making his way to the nursery._

_"Here you go, Sweet Girl. I brought food for you." Fitz coos, trying to peek around Olivia as he enters the room._

_And then it happened. She said her first word and it definitely wasn't 'Momma'._

Lola's giggling brings him out of his story telling reverie.

"I said 'Daddy', first?" Lola laughs, throwing her head back against Olivia's shoulder. "Poor, Momma."

"Yeah. She was a little upset but you said 'Momma' a week later at a huge party that we took you to so she felt like you were saving the best for last."

Lola shakes her head, her curls bouncing in the process, and lays her head back on Olivia's chest in its previous spot.

"Momma's silly." She sighs, closing her eyes to listen.

And it hits him again, that this is all that they'll ever have. Moments in a hospital room where her mother would never properly hold her or tell her stories or make her laugh.

_"Mr. President, a medically induced coma will help her heal properly. Her body and her mind just need a little time to catch up to the trauma and after we stop the medicine, she should be just fine. Don't worry."_

Don't worry.

_"We'll find whoever did this. They're not going to get away with trying to hurt Washington D.C.'s greatest asset. We're doing everything we possibly can, Mr. President. I promise. Don't worry." _

Don't worry.

Those two words always stuck with him. How ironic they were.

Sometimes he wanted to find the nurse and police officer that told him that and yell, scream, do anything that would help him grieve because he didn't worry, just like they told him to and two years later his wife still wasn't with him and her perpetrator still hadn't been found. He had stopped praying about it a long time ago. He would never understand why God would allow him to experience Heaven on Earth before sending him straight to Hell.

Lola's even breathing captures his attention and he longingly smiles at the pair. It's easy when they're both sleeping to imagine that Olivia would wake up and run her hands through Lola's messy thick curls, causing the two of them to joke about the fact that she was nearly bald until she was two. To imagine that eventually she would leave and they would go home where she would make Lola's lunches and tell her silly stories from when she was a baby. When they were sleeping he could imagine anything he wanted to. He could imagine that he was happy. He could imagine their future. What he couldn't imagine was that his future would lay unresponsive in this cold room forever.

Fitz sits back in the chair, letting tears fill his eyes and roll down his face undisturbed. He rarely brought Lola here because it was hard to watch her get older as Olivia stayed the same.

It felt like everyone was moving, changing around him but for the rest of his life he would be stuck in this room with the love of his life.


	2. Chapter 2

It took longer than Fitz thought it would to get himself moving. To simply put on some shoes and throw on a jacket. In the beginning he was always ready. He knew how long it would take him to get from wherever he was to the hospital at any given time. He memorized traffic patterns, back roads, roads that he was less likely to get a ticket for speeding on. You name it.

Two years later it was like he had never even heard of such things. His phone went to voicemail twice before he picked up, not sensing the urgency of the situation. There was a time when he nearly had panic attacks if he had accidentally left his phone in the other room and now he was barely interested in answering it at all.

"You can go in, President Grant."

The nurse reminded him. She seemed impatient almost, as if he was supposed to slam the door open and run into the room as if nothing had changed. Two years ago he might have. Not today. Not after all of the warnings that he had just received. Not after the deluge of thoughts plaguing his mind about her memory and her strength and her personality. He didn't think he could handle opening the door to find a woman that wasn't his wife.

Fitz nods at the woman anyway and goes over his mental pep talk once more before turning the handle and entering the room. He keeps his eyes glued to the floor and his back practically plastered to the, now closed, door while his head hangs between his shoulders, afraid of what he would find if he looked up.

"Hi." Olivia says softly, her voice raspy and low.

It reminds Fitz of the way that she sounded when he would wake her for work in the mornings and it was enough to open the floodgate of tears and send them streaming down his face rapidly. It seemed like a different time when they shared a bed and a room and a living space. A time where he knew exactly what she sounded like when she woke up. He felt like he didn't know this Olivia. Not that she had done anything in two years that he didn't know about but still, things were different.

For a second he is ashamed at his display of emotions and thoughts so he keeps his head down but for the first time in two years he was hearing her voice from something that wasn't a recording or a machine. She was speaking to him. She was awake. It was more overwhelming than he could have ever imagined.

She was still as thin as she was a few days ago when he'd come with Lola but now her hair fell down around her shoulders, longer than he'd ever seen it, instead of being pulled back into a braid. The biggest difference was that her eyes were open. He couldn't fathom the fact that as he looked at her, she could see him.

"Hi." Fitz chokes out, his voice wavering under the onslaught of emotions.

Olivia holds out her hand, her arm outstretched to urge him to come closer. He looked like the same man. His hair was still curly and styled in a way that made her eyes droop in lust. He still preferred to wear a simple sweater during his down time. His eyebrows were still so light that the only people that knew they existed were people that cared to look closely or, in her case, spend as much time as possible becoming familiar with every centimeter of his face. He was still quintessentially Fitz. There were smaller things that bothered her about him, that she would have to familiarize herself with. As he moved to sit at her side on the hospital bed, Olivia began inspecting every new line that etched its way onto his face, tracing her fingers along every single one. He had more gray hair than he'd had the last time she had seen him and although she tried to fight it, she could feel a wave of sadness wash over her.

A man that she once knew in and out had lived a lifetime in her absence. Every difference that she could find on his face was a story that she had not been around to experience. She begins to rub the new scar near his hairline; she'd saved it for last. Scars were permanent stories and lessons. Scars shape a person. It was something so simple but it just reminded her of the daughter that she'd left as a toddler and would meet again as a child. How many scars did she have? How many lessons had she learned from someone that was filling in her mother's place?

Fitz laughs, catching her off guard. One moment he was in tears and the next he was chuckling at an untold joke. Where at one point she was confident that she knew every thought that passed through his mind, she was now stuck in an unfamiliar place that was bolstering with uncertainty. He quells her active mind by bringing his hand up to meet hers, rubbing the scar along with her before bringing their hands to his lap.

"That's thanks to Lola." Fitz answers the unspoken question. "Last summer, I had just transitioned her into a booster seat and there was this record breaking heat wave. The seat was still new and she was still excited about it so she jumps into the back of the car, waits for me to get in the back with her to make sure that her seatbelt is on right and when she touched it, it was too hot. But of course, she's your daughter and has flair for dramatics so instead of just dropping it, she throws it over her shoulder and it hit dear old dad right in the face."

"The metal part?"

"The metal part." Fitz laughs, shaking his head wistfully. "Lola heard Daddy say some very not nice words that day."

Olivia chuckles along with him, trying to imagine their little girl. What would she have been wearing? How did her voice sound when she was excited about something? Did Fitz do her hair or did he have someone to do that for him? There were so many things that she didn't know. It frustrated her and created a painful aching in her chest.

"Can I see her?" Her voice comes out in a whisper, willing herself not to cry. "Can I see Lola?"

All that the nurses were allowed to tell her was what the date was along with a few current events but a nurse did let it slip that while Fitz came to see her almost twice a week that Lola was rarely ever in accompaniment. There had to be a reason and she was worried that he would say no. She wouldn't blame him if he had decided that her inactive presence might have been too confusing for their little girl but she couldn't help but hope that the opposite was true.

He gave her a sad sort of smile so she immediately steeled herself to his negative answer and closed her eyes, hoping to pacify her burning disappointment.

"Here." He said, bumping her hand with his phone.

She opened her eyes unprepared for the picture open on it but her eyes filled with tears anyway. The baby girl that she had left had indeed turned into a beautiful little girl and she had missed all of it.

"That was yesterday morning, getting ready for school. She calls that her 'Mommy look'."

Olivia couldn't help but chuckle looking at her daughter in a knee length trench coat and boots. Still, it was Lola's face that had most of her attention. When she was a baby Olivia had spent hours staring at her, finally understanding what people meant when they said that they could watch someone sleep forever. That was when her face changed every day and Olivia didn't ever want to miss a new freckle or the darkening of her skin or the changing color of her eyes. She wouldn't miss a thing if she never stopped looking but now it was like she had missed her entire life. She zoomed in on the picture and unknowingly traced the contours of her daughter's face the exact same way that her daughter did hers in every new picture that she discovered of her mother.

"She looks like you." Olivia observes aloud causing Fitz to snort in disagreement.

"No, she looks like you." He argues playfully.

Olivia shakes her head, her eyes still glued to the picture.

"The majority of her, yes but the smaller things are all you. The curve of her chin, the sparkle in her eyes…her eyebrows." She finishes with a smirk

He ignores her jab with a roll of his eyes, moving his hand up to caress her wrist. He had noticed those things about her a time or two as well but…

"All I see when I look at her is you."

And for the first time since he's handed her his phone, Olivia looks up at Fitz, her eyes filled with sympathy.

"That must be hard for you with me…" She lets the sentence hang in the open air.

There was no need to finish. They both knew what she was referring to. Their location wouldn't let them forget and drift off into a world where they were by themselves and nothing was unusual.

"In the beginning it was but now…now it's the greatest blessing being able to see you through her." Fitz shakes his head thoughtfully as he speaks. "Plus, she thinks that in a past life you must have been a queen somewhere. She says that you're too beautiful to be anything else. If she looks like you then that must mean that she's beautiful too."

Olivia smiles at that, taking one last look at the phone before handing it back to him.

"The doctor ran a few tests before you got here, you know, trying to assess the functionality of my brain and my body and my memory. Anyway, he said that I'll have to walk with assistance for a while and that I'll have to follow a strict diet as well but that I should be able to go ho-" Olivia stops her rambling at once too afraid to say the word home only to be told that she no longer had one with him. "He said that I should be able to _leave_ by the end of the week and so I was wondering since that's a few days from now if maybe you could bring Lola here. If I could see her _before_ I leave the hospital. If you don't mind."

She could see the confusion written on his face and couldn't place it. It was just another reminder that they'd become strangers in a sense.

"It's just that one of the nurses said that you don't usually bring Lola with you when you come and so I didn't know what you told her. I completely understand if you decided that this was too much or too confusing or whatever. I just…I-I wanted to see her." She continued on trying to clarify for him but she could see the worry in his eyes and it disheartened her.

It wasn't that Fitz didn't want Lola to see her mother awake. It was what he dreamt of every night but that was part of the problem. What if he left her side to get Lola and came back to find that he had imagined it all. His heart couldn't take seeing her again to find that this was all a part of his vivid imagination. The warmth of her skin, the tenor of her voice, the gentleness of her hands were things that his brain had tried to recreate so many times in her absence so he knew that it was real. However, lately life had not been kind to him and it would be his luck that it was, in fact, just a dream. So he shakes his head slowly and tilts her face so that he could look directly into her eyes, not wanting any part of what he was about to say get lost in translation.

"I want you to see your daughter every single day for the rest of your life. Okay?" He waits for her nod before continuing. "I am just _so_ afraid of leaving you here because I don't know what I'll come back to."

"So you didn't leave her at home so that she wouldn't see me?" Her voice is filled with tears and her eyes with doubt.

"She's actually in a kindergarten class at that huge school that you stalked before she was even born." Fitz brags to see her eyes light up at the mention of the ridiculously priced school.

"She got in?" Olivia practically shouts, referring to the rigorous process that was in place.

"Of course she did. You're her mother. She's as brilliant as you are."

And for a moment they're both silent, taking each other in once more. The room felt lighter in a way. Comfortable.

"I can have the agents bring her as soon as school is over. How about in the meantime I catch you up on the last two years?"

"Can I ask questions?"

"As many as you want." Fitz assures, situating himself in the bed so that they could lay side by side, although Olivia ended up sitting half way in his lap.

"I just want to know who does her hair because…well, she's black, Fitz."

The question causes him to throw his head back in laughter and pull her closer into his side as he chuckles his through the answer. It was comforting for the two of them to be able to sit and laugh together. It reminded Olivia of the lazy Sunday mornings that they spent in bed laughing and joking and making love to each other. She felt safe and whole in Fitz' arms. So they sat that way for a good two and a half hours before Lola began making her way to the hospital. Fitz couldn't help but almost bubble over in excitement at the notion of seeing them together again, of seeing them interact.

Fitz suddenly grips Olivia's face with both of his hands, startling her a bit before caressing the tops of her cheeks with his thumbs and then leaning in to kiss her. She expected short and brief but with the way that his tongue caressed hers she could feel every emotion coursing through his body. He couldn't help but want to kiss her until he could no longer breathe but she broke away from him before he could, looking up at him with a smile on her face.

"I love you." Fitz states as if there wasn't a more factual statement on the planet. "I have loved you every single moment since I laid eyes on you and I will love you every single moment until I die."

At the absolute contentment on her face, Fitz could almost physically feel the metaphorical clouds that were constant above him, part. He was holding his future in his hands and it donned on him that he could actually look forward to tomorrow and the day after that and the day after that and it was all just because she was with him.

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Reviews are appreciated :-)


	3. Chapter 3

**It's been forever in a day but I'm finally back with Olitz and Lola. I was going to make this chapter longer but I really wanted to get this up tonight so keep an eye out. I'll probably upload the next chapter around this time next week. Happy reading.**

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Lola's small footsteps were apparent as soon as she stepped off of the elevator. Fitz could hear her around the corner as she recounted her day for her nanny and agents as if they hadn't been there for it and he could only hope that her level of excitement wouldn't drop when she heard the news that he had to share. When she rounded the corner and saw him standing outside of Olivia's room, she took off, running straight into his arms as if he hadn't dropped her off at school just six hours ago. He couldn't complain though, he reveled in the fact that at any given time all that she wanted was to be in his arms. After she had hugged him for what she deemed a significant amount of time, he set her on the ground and quickly looked her over, telling himself that if she looked like she couldn't handle the news that he wanted so badly to give her, that he would just have the nanny take her home. As he took his time observing every inch of her, she tilted her head to look back at him and he knew that there would never be a good time. He couldn't wait until the perfect moment because it would never come.

"Daddy, I thought that I was s'posed to go to Carson's house after school. Her bigger sister said that we could make cupcakes with sprinkles on the top."

He could hear the question burning behind her words as she tilted her head in confusion. He knew that since she was here not even a week ago that she would be highly suspicious of another visit so close to the last and by the look on her face, he knew that she was waiting for him to divulge every detail that robbed her of a long awaited playdate with her best friend.

"Why don't we go get a snack from downstairs and then I'll answer your question."

As soon as Lola had devoured her cookies, Fitz had tried his hardest to tell her about her mother as gently as possible.

"Well," Fitz started off, taking a swig of water to stall the inevitable. "Remember when I told you that Momma had to rest so that her body could get better and that she would either rest until she was well enough to get up or her body would decide that it wouldn't be able to get well and then she would go to sleep forever?"

"She would die." Lola's voice was a mere whisper when she said it and it made Fitz feel immediately guilty for starting out the conversation the way that he did.

She had relayed to him once that she didn't like to talk about what could go wrong with her mother because her therapist had told her that speaking negative things into the atmosphere could sway them to come true. At the time he felt like the insane shrink was telling his daughter to repress her negative feelings, which would help her in no way, but he realized shortly after that it often helped with her short temper, which she definitely inherited from him, and she was very cognizant of what she said and how she said it.

Because Lola had been so young around the time of Olivia's accident, it was easy for Fitz to pass her off to a nanny, or their friends that were eager to help, to free up time for him to sit at Olivia's bedside as much as he was allowed. In turn, there was often a power struggle, as much as a three year old could give, when he was mentally well enough to parent. With a few recommendations, Lola began seeing a "counselor" once a week and although Fitz often felt like she was too young to be constantly exposed to the psychobabble of a therapist, she seemed to like it and rarely had behavioral issues. He just hoped that it would help them now.

"I said that that was a possibility but that's not why we're here." Fitz's voice was soft and persistent; he could not show her that he was scared out of his mind that their reunion would not be everything that he dreamed of.

And much like he thought she would, she went silent and didn't say another word in response to his life changing update. The levity of the news was becoming more prevalent the longer that Lola stayed quiet and played with her bracelet, avoiding meeting her father's eyes. Various people moved around them in the cafeteria which only made the silence louder as Fitz scanned every inch of her body for a sign of how she felt about the fact that her mother was very much awake. Lola's fingers twisted and bent as she played with them, her head bowed and her hair a messy halo outside of her blue headband.

"Lola?" Fitz whispered softly at a complete loss for what to say.

She lifted her head at his voice, her expression unreadable. Fitz couldn't help but wonder when his five year old had gotten so good at hiding her emotions from him.

"Lol, do you have anything to say?"

"Can we see her?" Her voice came out in a timid whisper like she was scared of the answer that her question would receive. "Can we go see Momma?"

The contained smile on his face was threatening to break through at her words. He was hoping that she would say something like that.

"Of course we can. We can go right now if you would like."

Fitz tried to keep the zeal out of his voice as he answered her, wanting nothing more than to see his girls together as soon as possible. Like she was reading his mind, Lola jumped up, nodding her head as she went.

"Yeah. I wanna go right now."

And that was all she had to say for Fitz to scoop her up and move towards the elevators. He stopped to let Lola pit stop at a restroom just down the hall from Olivia's room and watched her wet her small hands to smooth down her hair and adjust her uniform dress so that it hung faultlessly on her body. A small grin passed Fitz's face at her preparations.

"Alright, Sweet Girl, let's get a move on. You look perfect."

She turned to give him a smile at her pet name and then took a deep breath with her eyes locked on herself in the mirror. She nodded and then hugged him before they stepped out of the tiled room to take the first step of reacquainting themselves as a family.

Fitz found himself taking a deep breath with his left hand on the door knob, trying to quell his nerves. His right hand was in Lola's, trailing behind him as she hid slightly. He could feel her squeezing his hand tightly between the two of hers and the action only made him more anxious.

He cracked the door open first, trying to get a visual of his wife before stepping in the room. She had clearly tried to make herself more presentable. Her hair had been combed through and probably washed since it was damp and her curls looked fresh. She'd changed into a sweatshirt and leggings, throwing the cold and thin hospital gown across the chair in the corner, and her face showed how excited she was for them to be there.

Fitz pulled Lola into the room behind him and closed the door. Olivia's eyes were glued to Lola, who continued to hide behind her father, once the door was shut. She still had a death grip on his hand but she was staring intently at her mother as she peeked from around his leg. It seemed like neither Fitz nor Olivia had taken a breath as they both watched their little girl, waiting for her reaction.

"Lola," Fitz prodded, nudging her front of him before taking a step back to leave her in the middle of the room. "Say 'hello'."

Lola's eyes flickered up at him before she turned her attention back to her mother.

"Hi." Lola whispered, raising her hand a little to give a small wave.

Olivia looked to Fitz before responding, taking his head nod as a cue for her to speak.

"Hi, Sweet Girl." Olivia whispered back in a silvery tone.

She kept a small smile on her face, trying not frighten her little baby but her face cracked, marring as Lola instantaneously burst into tears and ran two steps behind her, pushing her face into Fitz's leg as both of her arms wrapped around him, clawing to be picked up wherever her hands reached. He looked up at Olivia alarmed but she could be of no emotional support. Her worst fear was unfolding before her. By the time Fitz had hauled Lola into his arms, Olivia had tears of her own spilling down her face. Fitz turned his back to her, bouncing Lola in his arms like a baby and rubbed her back to quiet her. He whispered in her ear a mixture of 'it's okay's' and 'I'm right here's' to relax her but she kept her fingers interlocked behind his back and her face buried in his neck as she cried, her sobbing showing no signs of calming.

"Fitz?" Olivia's voice reached him sounding strangled and hoarse.

He turned his head over his shoulder to find her wringing her hands. Her eyes were red, her face tear-stained and he could see the disappointment and hurt radiating from her.

"It's okay." She was nodding to herself as she spoke. "You can take her. I'll be okay."

Fitz shook his head imperceptibly, refusing to let their interaction end on a sour note. He opened his mouth to speak, to calm her fears since he couldn't take her in his arms and make it better like he was doing with Lola, but all that came out was a stress filled sigh. He turned his head back to focus on their daughter. Fitz knew that if he left the room it would be over for all of them so he bounced and soothed Lola until her sobbing and shaking stilled. It took five minutes for her full blown wailing to turn into weeping and Fitz took this opportunity to speak to her.

"What's wrong, Lol? Tell me what's wrong?"

She took in two quick breaths before trying to pant out a reply which brought on another bought of tears.

"It's okay, Lola. It's okay. Tell me what's wrong."

Lola leaned back in his arms, unlinking her hands from behind his back and covering her face.

"Lola?"

Fitz could tell that she was trying to calm herself by the shaky, interrupted, deep breaths that she was taking behind the hand mask that she'd created. She began trying to dry her face, pulling at her skin as her hands drug down her face.

"Sh-she…" Lola started before taking deep breaths again.

"It's okay. Take your time." Fitz's cooed trying to keep her composed.

He chanced a look back at Olivia while Lola kept trying to dry her face. She was wiping away tears of her own, her eyes trained on lap. He could tell that she was purposely trying not to look at the pair huddled by the door. He turned his attention back to Lola, who was sniffling.

"Lol?" He tried again, as her sniffling and face wiping slowed.

"Sh-she called my name." Lola whimpered, keeping her hands over her face.

Fitz could feel the confused expression that his face adopted. Had she not expected her mother to know her?

"Yeah, she did." Fitz started, trying to come up with something reassuring to say to her. "Did that scare you?"

Lola shook her head emphatically, finally removing her hand from her face, drying her face one last time before looking him straight in the eye.

"Momma never talked to me before."

And then it clicked. It had not occurred to him how overwhelmed she would be. He had thought that maybe she'd be scared or shy or excited but he'd forgotten to account for the fact that this would be the first time in her memory that she would interact with her mother. The scenario would be too much for any adult handle, let alone a five year old.

All that Fitz could do was nod his head reassuringly. What did he say to that? As much as he had hated that therapist in the beginning, he found himself praying that she would be able to undo any damage that he had just done by throwing his daughter into the deep end.

"Well…don't you want to talk to your mom?"

Lola nodded, wiping her eyes again.

"Alright…well, what do you say we try again, huh?" Fitz prodded, hoping that he could steer the visit in a more positive direction, bouncing her a little bit to cheer her up.

She nodded again and slid down in his arms so he set her on her feet gently and watched as she rubbed her face once more and pushed down her curls. This time when Fitz turned back to face Olivia, Lola stood in front of him. She was leaning against him but it was better than the hiding. Olivia looked at him and shook her head, drying her face and smoothing her hair like Lola had done moments prior.

"Everyone's okay, right?" Fitz asked, looking back and forth between his girls. "Huh? Everyone's okay. No more crying."

Lola looked back at him nodding and then looked back at her mother, taking her in. Olivia stared at Fitz incredulously, consciously keeping her eyes away from her daughter to keep from setting her off again. Fitz gave her a reassuring smile and then bent down to whisper in Lola's ear. Olivia watched Lola nod and then begin to walk towards her. She looked up at Fitz in shock. What had he said to her? Lola paused at her bedside, looking over her shoulder at her dad who tilted his head towards her as a go ahead. Lola then moved slowly, shuffling until her stomach was touching the side of the bed, she hesitated and then slipped her foot onto the metal bar at the bottom of the bed and used her hands to push herself onto the mattress. Before Olivia could get a word out, Lola had flung her body over hers and wrapped her arms around her figure like she had every single time that she had visited her mother.

Olivia hesitated, her arms open and hovering over Lola's petite body. She looked down at her little girl, her small head nestled against her chest, and slowly draped her arms around her while pulling her closer. Mere seconds had passed before tears began to pour down Olivia's face. She sniffled and caressed Lola's back and hair. She kissed the top of her head and pulled her body as close to her own as she could manage without squishing her but the tears flowed steadily as her body began to shake.

It was surreal and bittersweet to be cuddled up with Lola the way she was. Olivia had left the house one day, kissed her husband and babbling toddler goodbye. She was going to be Wonder Woman and save the world. Do a job that her daughter could be proud of and then she woke up underwater. It felt like she was constantly under a wave, unable to come up for air and just a layer away from the rest of the world. Occasionally she'd hear voices, beeping, a pull, someone trying to rescue her but her mind could never keep going long enough to reach her hand out to be pulled up. And then when she did, when she found the mental strength to outstretch her arm and be dragged to safety, her sweet baby had changed into this beautiful girl that she hardly recognized. She was elated at the fact that she could be here with her family, that she was no longer drowning but she didn't think that there was anything that hurt more than the fact that she was the mother to a little girl that she knew nothing about. She didn't know her favorite color, or movie, or song, or what she ate for breakfast, or how she liked to be woken up. Holding her daughter made Olivia think of every lost moment that she could never get back and the tears fell in quick succession to her thoughts.

As Lola looked up at her, she turned her attention to the ceiling, closing her eyes to compose herself but she knew it was no use. There was no doubt that Lola had noticed the tears wetting the cloth were she had lain her head.

"Momma?" Lola breathed cautiously.

Olivia was afraid to respond, having Lola's breakdown fresh and at the forefront of her mind.

Lola sat up, sitting back on her knees and raised her hand deliberately, softly setting it on her mother's cheek.

"Don't be sad." She murmured. "It's okay now."

Olivia smiled as Lola tried to wipe away her tears, bushing her fingers across her cheeks.

"I'm not sad. I promise." Olivia assured her, taking her hand and holding it in her own. "I'm very happy, actually. I just missed you so much."

Lola nodded and looked back at Fitz before replying.

"We missed you, too…" Lola trailed off. "Maybe…maybe you shouldn't go to sleep for so long next time?"

Olivia and Fitz laughed, locking eyes over Lola's shoulder as Fitz leaned in the corner of the room and watched their exchange.

"I'll try my best, I promise, but I don't think you have anything to worry about."

Lola nodded again and took a deep breath before speaking.

"Momma?"

"Yes?"

Lola looked back at her dad and took another deep breath.

"I love you."

And although Olivia tried her hardest, she couldn't stop herself from crying.

"I love you, too. So much." She managed to choke out before pulling Lola back into a hug and kissing the top of her head repeatedly.

They laid like that for a while. Lola acquainting herself with the way it felt to be held by her mother and Olivia making herself familiar with every single part of her little girl that she could see. Fitz continued to watch on, teary eyed, from the sidelines. He'd had all day to familiarize himself with his wife again so it was nice to see his daughter do the same with her mother.

The room was silent aside from their breathing but it wasn't long before its youngest occupant asked the question that had been swirling around Olivia's mind since she had learned how much time had passed.

"Daddy, is Momma gonna stay at our house now?" Lola's face was buried in Olivia's sweatshirt so her question was muffled but both adults heard it clearly.

Olivia tried her best not to look fearful at what the answer might be but Fitz answered immediately as he walked to her bedside and took the chair beside it.

"Of course. They probably won't let her leave until tomorrow, maybe the day afterwards but as soon as the doctors do everything that they have to do, we'll bring her home." Fitz made eye contact with Olivia before he spoke again. "And then we'll be a family, the three of us."

Lola nodded and yawned, her face betraying how drowsy she was without her afternoon nap.

"That's good." She murmured before closing her eyes again.

Fitz smiled at her and leaned forward to kiss her forehead. He looked up at Olivia who was smiling at her as well and took her hand in his, interlocking their fingers, and let them rest at the small of Lola's back.

They looked at each other, tearing their eyes away from the precious little human that they were marveling at and Fitz grinned and winked, feeling at peace. He mouthed an 'I love you' and made sure that every single emotion that he was feeling was shown clearly on his face and when she returned the sentiment in the same fashion, he knew that it really would be okay. It wasn't a fairytale to sell their daughter. Forever was a reality.

* * *

**If you read the AN at the beginning you know that I had something prepared to add to this chapter but held off. Because I really love this story and I'm excited about the next chapter and the dynamic between this little family, if you leave a review and add preview to it, I'll send you a couple of paragraphs as a sneak peak of the next chapter. For you to get a preview, you must have an account so that I can send it through the PM system.**

**Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed.**

**Reviews are appreciated.**

**-BiJan :-)**


	4. Chapter 4

I want to start off this chapter by saying that I love the love that you guys have for Lola because I love her, too. I honestly should have just named this 'Lola's Story' because you'll get so much of her. However, in this chapter you're going to see a side of her that you may not like. With that said, I hope that you'll still rock with my baby because she's just that, a baby.

This chapter is the longest in the series so far so I hope that it was worth the wait. You guys are going to get Olitz time, bratty Lola, Liv having girl time, some things that I hope make you laugh, and of course, fluff.

There's also a pretty long author's note at the end that will explain some things but for now, happy reading!

* * *

Olivia was having an odd morning.

The hospital officially let her leave two days after she had opened her eyes and insisted on running every test that they could before they let her go. They were all boring, strenuous, and/or tiring so that by the time Fitz had packed up Olivia's few belongings, she could have run to the car if the nurses hadn't insisted that she be wheeled out. Olivia found that she got tired quickly when she was doing the most menial of tasks and since it was already late, she hadn't argued. Lola fell asleep in the car on the way home and hadn't awoken until she was placed in bed and was begging for a goodnight kiss from both of her parents. Her early retirement left Fitz and Olivia doing an awkward dance around each other all night as he tried not to seem too eager and she tried to act as normal as possible.

Being in her own home gave her the same sensation that she got when she went for yearly checkups. The doctor's office is a familiar place but you can't help but notice that something is off once you take a seat. After sitting for a while you realize that the clipboard now sits to the left of the receptionist and not the right, that now there's a fish tank in the wall and the children's corner has been stocked with toys in addition to books.

The only difference was that she cared about why there was a new rug in the bathroom and why the olive green accent wall was now a pale blue. As she moved around the bedroom and bathroom preparing for bed, she made a mental note to ask about these things once she was a bit more settled. It was already late and Fitz was doing this odd thing where he was trying to give her space but ended up hovering like his being was sustained off his proximity to her. When she gave him a short nod to tell him that she was done, they shared a timid, stiff kiss before they tumbled into bed and fell asleep with their backs touching.

After a night of anxious, restless sleep, they found themselves stepping around each other to get presentable for Lola. Olivia found herself standing in the doorway of their bedroom watching as Fitz held Lola's hands and pulled her down the hallway. Her sock clad feet were sliding along the wood floor in opposition as she was towed to the bathroom, yelling loudly and crying about not wanting to attend school.

Olivia felt odd acting as a bystander when she should have been taking the role of parent. She knew that Fitz could handle it on his own, hell, he'd been doing it for two years but the tantrum that Lola was throwing was unacceptable in her eyes and if Olivia had been acting that way as a child, she wouldn't have gotten off without picking a switch for at least one of her parents if not both.

She decided that instead of watching Fitz struggle to get Lola's teeth brushed, which physically pained her, that she would shower and get dressed. Fitz said that he dropped Lola off for school every morning, which she found commendable since she knew what his schedule must be like, so she had agreed in an instant that she would accompany him before he went to his office to sort out a few things. By the time she had finished in the shower, Lola was in full uniform with her hair in a messy ponytail, sitting with her legs crossed in the middle of the bed.

"Momma? Do I have to go to school?" She whined, her eyes wet from crying.

"Yes, you do." Olivia answered, sternly.

"But Momma…"

Her small voice melted Olivia a bit but she knew better than to give in. Plus, even though she felt badly about it, Lola's tantrum made her feel like she already needed a mommy break.

"Lola!" Fitz called from the closet, saving Olivia from having to be the enforcer. "You love school, Honey. Don't you want to see your friends?"

"No." She cried, flinging herself back against the pillows. "I wanna stay here with Momma."

Fitz and Olivia looked at each other and Olivia could tell that he was exasperated by Lola's behavior.

"Lola," Olivia started, coaxing the little girl out of the bed. "I'll be here when you get home from school. Just because I'm home now doesn't mean that you don't need to learn. Plus, all of your friends will miss you if you stay home with me."

Lola sighed and nodded in agreement with her mother.

"Do you promise to be here?"

"I promise." Olivia vowed and with that they were finally able to get her into the car and on her way to school.

* * *

After practically throwing Lola out of the car, the pair hightailed it back home where they cuddled up on the couch and laughed at stories both familiar and new to Olivia. The fireplace was going since the house had a small draft during Autumn and they were thoroughly enjoying each other's company, sitting in long bouts of comfortable silence just to take in their new dynamic.

"Hey." Fitz huffed, shaking her in his arms. "You're thinking so loudly that I can't enjoy the silence of not having a child in the house."

Olivia chuckled before turning in his arms and sliding her legs over and in between his.

"Yeah...I guess I was. I just have a lot on my mind."

"Care to share with the class?"

Olivia sighed and looked up at him, shaking her head before tucking it under his chin. She found the closeness and warmth of his body to be comforting while she thought.

"I have a kid. She's five. She has an entire personality, likes and dislikes, that I know nothing about. How am I supposed to learn it all at once?"

Fitz kissed the top of her head, thinking over what she'd said.

"You don't _have_ to learn it all at once." He joked. "Come on, don't be discouraged. You know a lot more than you think."

"Mhm, like what?"

"Well...you know that her name is Lola Natasha Grant." He paused to think before continuing. "You know that she was born May 13th, on Mother's Day. You know that she goes to a Kindergarten class five days a week at the Sidwell Friends School. You know plenty."

Olivia leaned her head back to cut her eyes at him.

"That's all superficial. You can Google it." She complained.

"Livvie, it'll take time." Fitz laughed. "For now, what you've got is good enough."

Olivia rolled her eyes at his nonchalant response.

"That's not _good enough_." She mocked in deeper voice and then got quiet. "And then...what about us? I don't even know where I fit in your life. It's been years."

Fitz sat up at her question, pulling her across his lap.

"What are you talking about? You're my wife. I love you. We go back to where we were like nothing has happened."

"But something has happened! Are there any girlfriends that I should know about? Temporary companionship? Drunken advances towards the nanny that should be mentioned?"

"Okay, I'm going to stop you right there. I see how highly you think of me."

"I'm not going to apologize for worrying about what you've been doing."

"Well, you can stop. There's been no one. I went on what I thought was a meeting and it turned out to be a date but as soon as I figured out that I was being set up, I left. There's been no one and nothing that you need to worry about."

"But it would be naive for you to think that we can just pick up after two years and pretend like things aren't different, that _you're_ not different."

Fitz sighed, rubbing his hands up and down her arms as he thought.

"Let's go on a date." He blurted out.

Olivia looked at him with her head tilted in confusion.

"Excuse me?" She hissed in disbelief. "A _date_?"

"Yes!" Fitz chuckled, leaning forward to place a quick kiss on her lips. "A date. It's perfect. We'll set aside time once, maybe twice a week, where we go out and we do something without Lola. We'll talk and laugh and become reacquainted with one another until you no longer feel like an outsider in your own home...or at least with me."

Olivia leaned her forehead against Fitz's chin, keeping her head down as she mulled over his words.

"I guess it's not a horrible idea."

"It's settled, then. Date night has officially been instituted."

Fitz removed his hand from where is rested on her butt and stuck it out to her. She laughed when she realized what he was doing and shook his hand to seal their deal.

"Do you have anything to eat in this house?" She complained, wrapping his arms back around her. "I'm starving.

All she had to do was ask before he scooped her up in his arms and carried her to the kitchen to feed her a hearty brunch before tucking her in upstairs for a nap with a quick kiss.

"I took off yesterday so I just have to drop in for a few hours to see if everything's okay with my staff. I have to reschedule some meetings and appearances." Fitz explained as he slipped on his shoes. "I also have to meet with my advisor so we can start talking about how we're going to handle the media talk about you and construct a statement."

"Shouldn't I be a part of those discussions?" Olivia asked with furrowed eyebrows.

"Of course. I'll bring him by the house so that we can have a comprehensive meeting. I just want to go over talking points with him first so that you can get some rest today."

Olivia nodded in agreement. Although she didn't want to admit it, she really did need to nap.

"So, when will you be home?"

"I should be here by dinner. You'll meet Mona, Lola's nanny, who should be here at 4:30, no later than 5:00. She'll handle Lola unless you want to. She usually has a snack and they play a game or do something fun. Lola has dance today so she'll probably give her a bath before letting her just hang out. Hasaan, who's still our chef, will come by to start cooking dinner around 5:00 o'clock and then I should be home around 5:30. Unless my meetings run over, we can all have dinner together." He paused in his speech when Olivia started to look overwhelmed. "You'll be fine. All you have to do is sit and look beautiful. The staff knows you're here and you love Hasaan so just relax. Take your nap and I'll be home before you know it."

Fitz rolled across the bed to kiss both of her closed eyelids before pulling the covers up around her.

"I can't believe I'm so tired." Olivia yawned wiggled to get comfortable under the duvet. "You would think that being in a coma for two years would give me tons of energy but just taking a shower this morning made me feel wiped out."

Fitz chuckled at the apparent disbelief in her tone.

"The doctor told you to take it easy, remember? No one is expecting you to run a 5k anytime soon."

"I know, I know." She whispered drowsily.

Fitz kissing her mouth was the last thing she felt before slipping into the waiting abyss of unconsciousness.

* * *

When Olivia woke from her nap she groaned when she saw 3:48 on the bright clock. She took a few moments to sit and take in her surroundings, trying to digest all that had happened in the last 3 days. She would be lying if she tried to tell herself that it didn't matter whether Fitz had brought another woman here or not but it quelled her mind to know that no one else had slept where she had or sifted through her side of the closet.

Olivia got up and began looking at the pictures on the dresser, the new clothes on Fitz's side of the closet, even the medicines in the cabinet when she was pleasantly surprised by the white monogrammed note taped to the floor length mirror wall across from the shower and spa tub. She picked it up, fingering the edges, and smiling as she read it.

'_There's a tiny person that we share this house with that loves to sneak into our room so that she can pose and dance in front of these very mirrors. She loves to sing and she's incredibly charismatic so leave her alone in here for ten seconds and you'll come back to an epic show and the coolest dance party you'll ever be invited to._'

Olivia threw her head back laughing and held the note to her chest as she frantically looked around the bathroom for more. When she decided to the leave their room she found that there were notes everywhere. Looking for them down became a scavenger hunt for her and had her primary focus for the moment. She found a few in Lola's room and bathroom, in the kitchen, even the garage had a tidbit about their little girl's obsession with her monogrammed baby Maserati. The note said that it was a gift from Jay Z and stated that Lola was insistent that it stayed parked in the midst of her Daddy's car collection. It warmed her to think that Fitz had given so much thought to her worries and had probably taken time that he didn't have to place these notes around the house where he knew she'd find them.

Olivia was sitting on the floor in the den area where she'd found, what she assumed was the last note which had been placed on top of the grand piano. She had taken all of the tips and stories and spread them out on the floor in front of her to study and memorize and visualize her daughter fitting into the description of each one. She was starting her third read through, giggling at the slip that had been put on the fridge that warned her about Lola's dramatic aversion to vegetables, when the house phone began to ring. Olivia hesitated, letting the phone ring multiple times as she stood over it before yanking it off of the receiver and huffing a short 'what'.

"Hi! You're not bored yet are you?" Fitz's voice came through teasing her.

"Yeah, no, I'm good." She stopped and looked across the room at her mess of papers. "I got your notes..."

Fitz could hear the shy smile in her voice.

"I hoped that you would like that. Do you think you found all of them?"

"I found thirty-seven, which is a random number, so I wasn't sure if I had but I feel like I've looked everywhere."

"Not _everywhere_, clearly." Fitz laughed in amusement at his game.

"Fitz!"

He laughed louder at her annoyance.

"I didn't call to pester you, believe it or not." He stopped to chuckle at her scoffing. "I promise! I actually called to tell you that Lola's on her way home. I didn't want someone coming in the house to catch you off guard and startle you."

"Thank you, I guess." Olivia huffed in reply. "Are you going to tell me where the other notes are?"

"That would be no fun!"

Olivia rolled her eyes and sat on the arm of the couch next to the phone.

"But what if I never find them?" She whined.

"You will. Don't worry. Look where you haven't yet. You couldn't have looked all over the house."

"If you say so..." Olivia sighed.

"I have faith in you." He chuckled

She gave a non-committal hum, already brainstorming where the other notes could be.

"By the way, I may not be home in time for dinner. It seems that I'm being threatened for canceling an interview so I'm trying to fit it in today."

"Threatened?"

"Canceling was a breach of contract and although they say that they understand the circumstances, I've already done the cover shoot so now they want to cash in on the interview."

As soon as Olivia opened her mouth to answer she heard the slam of the front door and Lola's yelling from the foyer.

"Someone's excited to be home." She giggled before answering Lola's call. "I'm back here, Lol!"

Fitz shook his head, excited by the simple thought of his girls being home together. He could only imagine the bonding that they would do before he got home.

"I'll let you go then. Give my girl a hug and kiss for me. I'll see you both later."

She smiled before placing the phone back on the receiver and had barely turned around when Lola came sliding into her with a thud.

"Hi, Momma!"

"Hey, you." Olivia greeted, wrapping her arms around Lola and placing a kiss on the top of her head. "How was school? Are you glad that you went?"

Lola's reply came out mumbled and muffled in the fabric of her mother's shirt as she hugged tighter.

"I can't hear you, Sweet Girl."

Lola leaned as far back as she could with her arms wrapped around Olivia's waist, her fingers interlocked to keep her from falling.

"I had fun at school but I missed you so much."

"Then I guess it's a good thing that tomorrow's Saturday, huh?"

"Uh huh." Lola answered with a nod, pulling herself back into her mother's embrace.

"Sorry to interrupt...I just thought that I would come introduce myself. I'm Mona."

Olivia looked up to see a woman standing in the doorway. She immediately began to notice the similarities between them. Her hair was almost bigger than she was, the ringlet curls creating a halo around her head. It resembled Olivia's whenever she would let her hair air dry and the way she was dressed reminded her of her own style. She had petite, exaggerated features that mimicked her own making Olivia wonder what the thought process was behind her hire.

"Olivia." She answered with a small smile, her hands rubbing up and down Lola's back.

"It's nice to finally meet you."

"Likewise."

There was a pregnant silence afterward as the women watched each other.

"Momma? What's all these papers on the floor?" Lola giggle, shaking her head. "You made a mess."

Olivia unwrapped Lola's arms from around her waist to scoop of the disarrayed papers that she'd left all over the floor.

"Daddy wrote me notes. I was reading them before you came in."

"Ooh, what kinda notes?"

"Notes that are just for me, nosy."

Olivia was arranging the papers on the piano bench as Lola looked over her trying to read what she could when Olivia poked her nose, sending the little girl into a fit of giggles.

"I'm hungry. Can we have a snack?"

"Mrs. Grant?" Mona interrupted before Olivia could answer. "She should probably change out of her dance clothes. I usually don't give her a snack until afterwards so that she can't stain them."

Olivia nodded and turned to Lola.

"You know the drill little lady. Go with Mona and change your clothes. I'll meet you in the kitchen."

Lola groaned but went without complaint. Olivia watched as Mona put her hand on Lola's shoulder and guided her out of the room. She rolled her eyes at her own jealous thoughts and made her way to the kitchen, knowing that she'd drive herself crazy if she didn't have eyes on Lola for the remainder of the night.

"Olivia?"

Her eyes widened at the bulky man in front of her and she nearly ran to him for a hug, reveling in the shock of seeing him.

"Hassan!" Olivia squealed, stepping back to look him up and down. "Look at you!"

The chef smiled bashfully, tilting his head to the side as he grinned.

"Look at me? Look at you!"

The pair stood grinning at each other in silence.

"You have no idea how good it is to see you." She sighed before looking down.

"I'm one of the few left from the old team. We were cleaned out after your accident."

"I heard. The police came by my room when I woke up. Apparently Fitz thought my agents might have had something to do with it?"

"Yeah..." Hassan nodded, tugging his ear. "He was off his rocker for bit after it happened. All of those guys were replaced for negligence."

"You know I hated having them follow me."

"They said that you asked them to wait near your car but when they lost visual of you for too long one of them went looking and found you unconscious." He shrugged, his right shoulder almost touching his ear. "At least that's what came through the Grant employee rumor mill. We all had to give an official statement and were told not to talk to each other about it so there's no way to confirm that that's really what happened"

Olivia began to rub the back of her head where the incision was made. It surprised her how sensitive the scar was since so much time had passed.

"I don't remember much. My doctors are certain that as I fall into a normalized routine that things may come back to me but I'm ready to move on. I don't want to waste any time on it. I'm fine." She looked behind her before facing him again. "Plus, moving on will give me a chance to bond more with Lola. I really want to integrate myself into her schedule."

Hassan nodded again.

"Have you met Mona?"

Olivia gave an exasperated sigh and rolled her eyes.

"Yes, I met Olivia 2.0 a few minutes ago."

Hassan chuckled at her annoyance.

"Oh, come on! She's not a part of the old team but she's professional and good at her job." He shook his head at Olivia once she put her hands on her hips. "Talk to her a little bit and I'm sure you'll like her. Lola responds well to her."

"Mmm." Olivia hummed, nodding her head at him facetiously.

"Hassan?!" Lola shouted as she ran to him for a hug. "Did you met my Momma?"

"Meet." Olivia and Mona corrected at the same time, glancing at each other awkwardly as Lola corrected herself.

"Yes, I did meet your mother. Remember we used to be friends?"

Lola shrugged, pressing her lips into a fine line and scrunching her face. Hassan chuckled at her, scooping her into his arms as he walked to the kitchen.

"How about a snack, Little Bit?"

"Yes, puhlease. I. Am. Starving." She bellowed as she threw her head back dramatically.

Olivia snickered at her before following Hassan into the kitchen. He plopped Lola down on a bar stool at the island and then started moving around his work space, telling jokes. Olivia watched from near the doorway, leaning against the wall. Mona was setting up flash cards on the table and Lola was the producer of constant giggles. After Hassan sat a small brownie with ice cream drizzled in chocolate sauce in front of Lola, the kitchen quieted as she tore into it. Olivia could feel Hassan watching her as she watched Lola but she purposely kept her eye averted from his.

"Are you going to hold up the walls all night?"

Olivia cut her eyes at him but did not move.

"I know you have to be tired standing up that long. I'd hate for you to fall out because you're stubborn." Hassan huffed, beginning to wipe down the counters as Lola turned around to look at her mother with chocolate covering her face.

"I'm fine." She answered rolling her eyes before taking the seat next to Lola. "Did my husband call you?"

"What do you think?" He asked facetiously.

The duo shared a look and then laughed. It was a familiar scene. The conversation after that flowed seamlessly from person to person as Hassan started working on dinner and Lola and Olivia had moved to the table to play the flashcard game that Mona set up on the kitchen table.

Olivia took this the time to observe the dynamics that everyone shared. She thought it was odd that Hassan and Mona shared such a formal relationship after he tried to talk her up. Their communication mimicked the style of employees in a corporate break room more than it alluded to the more casual setting that they were in. What was more important was the relationship that they each had with her daughter. Olivia had handpicked Hassan herself before Lola was born so she expected their relationship to be as casual and familiar as it was. And then there was Mona. It was clear that Mona loved Lola and she probably couldn't have picked a better nanny herself. She was encouraging whenever Lola got answers wrong and was sure to correct her without talking down to her. She had a certain air of authority but played with her like a peer. There was an effortless control there that made Olivia trust Mona with her daughter. She got the feeling that Mona could handle anything until it was time for their little game to end.

Hassan had just updated them that dinner would be served a little later than usual which was Lola's cue for bath time.

"Alright." Mona spoke up, stopping the game. "We skipped your bath because your mom's here but since supper is going to be late, let's go do it now."

Lola's face fell in an instant.

"No!" She shouted, leaning back in her chair with her arms crossed over her chest.

"Lola..." Mona called softly as she walked around the table to stand near the little girl.

"Noooooo!" Lola screamed as fast, furious tears began began to race down her face.

Olivia watched as Mona inched towards her daughter cautiously in disbelief. Her eyes flickered between them, waiting to see what Mona would do about the sobbing, red-faced child in front of her. Mona continued to move slowly like she was trying to coax a small animal, when she reached the side of Lola's chair she bent down, squatting next to her.

"Lola. Stop crying. It's time for your bath." Mona reached out and pulled Lola's arm to persuade her to stand up.

"STOP!" She screeched as she yanked the nanny's hand from her arm.

Olivia tilted her head in confusion watching Mona flinch before trying again.

"Lola." She was louder and more firm this time.

She placed her hands on Lola's shoulders and turned her around so that they were facing each other. Lola immediately began pushing on Mona's wrists, her face puffing with anger as continuously wailed. It took mere seconds for her to get frustrated with being unable to remove Mona's hands so she began to swing her feet, kicking Mona in the chest several times before Olivia hopped up and rounded the table. She yanked Lola off of the chair by her arm and nearly drug her across the room so that she was standing away from Mona and then pushed Lola into the corner and took a step back.

"Have you lost your mind, Lola Grant?!"

Lola shook her head quickly, burying her face in her hands as her crying escalated.

"Your feet belong on the ground." Olivia sneered, snatching Lola's hands away from her face. "Do you think that Mona likes to be kicked after she takes care of you all day? Do you think she wants to take care of you when you act like that?"

Lola shook her head again, bowing her head into her chest that was heaving from her sobs.

"Look at me!" Olivia commanded, pushing her chin up so their eyes could meet. "Apologize and go to your room."

Lola nodded and then inched around her mother and shuffled across the breakfast nook to stand in front of Mona. Her head was bowed and her shoulders were hunched as she whimpered a barely audible 'sorry' before shuffling towards the door.

"And stop all of that crying before I give you something to cry about!"

Lola's crying noticeably quieted but Olivia could hear her hiccuping until she reached the top of the stairs. All she could do was plop down in her chair at the kitchen table and let her face fall into her waiting hands.

"Mona, would you like a drink?"

Mona crinkled her nose as she looked at her new boss in disbelief. She was covering her face like Lola always did when she was upset but she knew what to expect from an unsettled Lola. Her mother was a wild card.

"I don't drink on the job, Mrs. Grant."

Olivia sighed heavily and looked up.

"My name is Olivia. You can call me Liv. I can't have a drink because I'm still being monitored." She closed her eyes as she spoke and rubbed her fingers across them with a grimace. "If you'd like a drink go ahead and pour yourself one or come sit down."

She hesitated, peeking a look behind her at Hassan who was diligently making impressions on the puff pastry for dinner. He raised his eyebrows so she knew that he was listening but he didn't give her any support so she went to sit at the table, taking the chair across from it's only occupant.

"Mona, do you like your job?" Olivia started, resting her chin on her folded fingers.

"Yes. I do. Um...I signed a five-year contract to work for the Grant-"

"You don't have to recite your contract. I'm not going to fire you." Olivia interrupted, rubbing her eyes again. "I just... I want to know...why are you here? Why do you show up to work everyday? Does she act like that often?"

Mona's eyes lit up in understanding.

"I love my job. I love Lola but she does have a few behavioral issues." Mona knew exactly what she was asking but wanted to tread lightly. "That kind of behavior isn't something that I see all time but she's had a few changes recently. Dance is a new activity for her and because we've been so busy trying to balance everything, there hasn't been time for her to see the therapist and there's always a link in her behavior and their last session. In the beginning I had trouble with her saying terrible things when she was upset and I think the therapist helped her understand the power of words but now she just lashes out physically."

Olivia nodded and took a deep breath.

"How do you deal with that? How would you have dealt with that if I weren't here?"

"I would've let her cry it out before pointing out how silly that type of behavior is. She usually apologizes once she realizes that her tantrum was for naught but really the only person that can get her to calm down is her dad. Her temper is just like his."

Olivia shook her head and exhaled sharply through her nose.

"It's a problem that you know that." She pointed out, giving Mona a look.

"Well...it's not because Fitz...um President Grant loses his temper often but he wasn't in the best place when I first started. When it comes to him and Lola, anything can set them off but he just yells a lot. Lola lashes out physically because she doesn't know what else to do." As Mona spoke Olivia raised her eyebrows. "But I got fired twice in my first month so I can't really tell you which one is worse."

"And you kept coming back?" Olivia asked incredulously.

"Part of the reason is because I wasn't hired by him, I was hired by your friend Tasha."

"Nat hired you?!"

"Uh, yeah. She was living here taking care of Lola when I started. She said that you would've wanted your baby girl with someone that you could trust but after a month had passed and you hadn't gotten better, she had to go back to her real job so she hired me. Whenever I have problems I just call her and I don't know what she says to him but he's always overly nice afterwards." She paused, looking away. "Just in case you look at payroll and question why I make so much."

Olivia chortled at that before becoming somber.

"Do you think she's a bad kid? Lola?" She asked in a hushed tone.

Mona took a moment to think, her face scrunching up before she answered.

"I think that she lacks discipline. She has a good schedule and she's smart and loved but she doesn't know what consequences are. She has all of the makings to be the perfect child but whenever she does something wrong, she gets a talk and in extreme cases a time out. That doesn't make her a bad kid but...it won't be hard for her to turn into the bad apple if we're not careful."

Olivia nodded and then shook her head.

"Okay." She finally said, breaking the silence that had taken over.

"Okay?"

"Okay. No more talking about the kid. No more Grant business. I want to know about you outside of this job. Who is Mona?"

Mona smiled at that and they spent the next half an hour before dinner becoming familiar with each other.

* * *

"Lola." Olivia crooned as she rubbed her back to wake her up.

She was face down on her bed, her pillow still wet from her earlier tears.

"Yes, Momma?" She croaked before trying to make eye contact in the bright room.

"It's time for dinner."

Lola sat up and rubbed at her eyes for a moment before she began to fumble with her hands.

"Am I still in trouble?" She asked timidly.

"No but I want you to understand that your behavior was unacceptable and Mona won't tolerate that."

"I know." She groaned in sorrow.

"When we go downstairs I want you to apologize to her like you mean it and I don't want to see you kick anyone else. Am I clear?"

Lola nodded, sporting a pout.

"Yes, Momma."

"Alright let's go."

She rolled off of the bed, holding her hand out to her daughter and they made their way to the kitchen with their fingers interlocked.

After Lola had apologized and received Mona's forgiveness, the trio sat down and devoured the delicious _salmon en croûte_ over jokes and stories. Olivia and Mona had gone off on a tangent, unintentionally leaving Lola out of the conversation. She was disinterestedly dragging a piece of her pastry through the remaining hollandaise on her plate when she finally spoke up.

"I'm tired of sitting here. Can we have a more interesting talk for kids?"

Olivia stopped talking as soon as Lola voiced her objection.

"I'm sorry, Lol. Why don't you help me clear the table." Olivia suggested, getting up from the table with her plate.

"Clear the table?" Lola asked in confusion as she turned around in her chair to watch her mother strut to the sink.

"Yes, clear the table. Grab your plate and Mona's plate and bring it to the sink and then go back and grab the glasses. You're going to help me wash the dishes as your new chore."

"I don't wanna do chores." Lola retorted, turning around in her chair with her arms crossed.

"Lola, go help your mom." Mona instructed, trying to keep her tone light to prevent another meltdown. "Chores aren't bad. Come get this plate and then do what your mother said."

"No. I already said I'm not doing it."

Olivia tried not to immediately start yelling but Lola's refusal to listen sparked anger in her. She had to remember that she was speaking to a five year old to keep her temper in check.

"Lola, we've had a nice dinner. Don't ruin it by not cooperating. I'm going to ask you one more time to bring me the plates before you're in trouble."

Olivia watched as her determined face of resistance melted into anger. She stood up quickly and snatched her plate off of the table along with Mona's and walked over to Olivia quickly, stopping right in front of her.

"Good. Now, was that so hard?" Olivia asked before turning on the water at the sink. "Now scrape the plates into the trashcan."

Olivia turned around to start washing her own dish when the clanking sound of the plates hitting the tile floor caused her to jump in shock. She turned around quickly, fearing that Lola had hurt herself trying to balance both plates at the same time. Instead, she turned to see the dishes at Lola's feet as she stood with her arms crossed. She could only imagine the mess that it would have created if they weren't eating on Corelle.

"I told you I'm not doing chores." She said as stuck her nose in the air haughtily.

Olivia took a deep breath before responding, clenching her fists at her side.

"Pick that up right now." Olivia commanded in a shaky, soft voice.

Lola stood in her spot, unwavering in her decision to disobey her mother.

"Lola-" Mona tried helping from her spot at the table but was interrupted as soon as she started.

"No! Don't ask me again! I said 'no'!" Lola began to shout.

Olivia couldn't take it anymore and reached for the little girl, grabbing her by her arms to pull her closer.

"I'm so tired of this behavior. When I tell you to do something, you need to do it the first time I ask."

Lola started crying at the rough way that she was being handled and started pushing at Olivia to break away from her hold.

"Stop it!" Lola screamed, pushing and sliding her feet to try to make a get away, her hands still flailing at Olivia. "I want a good mom. You were more better when you sleeping at the hospital."

"Lola! Stop that right now!" Fitz shouted, stepping into the kitchen.

Shocked, Olivia dropped her hold on Lola, turning around to face him. Lola had calmed down immediately and ran to Fitz who picked her up and cuddled her in his arms. Olivia couldn't hide her frustration and anger. She could barely hear what Fitz was murmuring over the ringing in her ears.

"Tell your mom that you're sorry."

"I'm not sorry!" She spat, burrowing into her father.

"Fitz!" Olivia shouted, fighting to hold her tongue.

"Okay, okay." He stammered, looking between them. "Lola, you're on time out for your behavior. Go upstairs and think about what you've done."

"Timeout?!" Olivia and Lola asked in unison but the incredulity in their voices stemmed from two opposing sides.

"I already got a timeout today!" Lola complained.

"Maybe you deserve two timeouts." He reasoned.

"She deserves a hell of a lot more than a timeout, Fitz."

"Olivia!" He barked, eyeing her. "Lola, go upstairs right now. I'll come talk to you later."

Olivia stood against the counter seething as she watched Lola skip out of the room. Hassan slipped out behind her and Mona vacated the kitchen as soon as she had cleared the discarded dishes off of the floor.

"Liv, you need to watch your mouth." Fitz admonished as soon as they were alone.

"_I_ need to watch _my_ mouth? Why don't you give that talk to your daughter." Olivia began to raise her voice as she started walking towards him. "You need to discipline that child."

Fitz threw up his hands in exasperation.

"What do you think I just did?! She's in timeout and I'll talk to her once she's calmed down."

"That's not discipline, that's coddling."

"Well, what do you want me to do?" Fitz snapped, meeting her halfway so that they stood toe to toe. "Spank her?"

"Actually, yes. That's exactly what I want you to do. Give consequences to her actions."

He stepped back at that with a look of disgust covering his face.

"I'm not going to beat my child."

"I didn't ask you to beat her, I asked you to spank her. There's a difference."

"Well, I'm not going to do either."

"So, you're just going to let her speak to me like that?!" She asked incredulously.

They stood in silence for a moment while he thought over her question.

"I don't know what you want me to do." Fitz groaned, running his fingers through his hair.

"I just told you what I want you to do."

"Anything but that."

Olivia rolled her eyes and began to walk out of the kitchen.

"That's it? You're just going to walk away."

"I have nothing else to say." She drawled as she turned around to look at him. "You clearly want to be one of _those_ parents with one of _those_ kids."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Watch your language, _baby_, I wouldn't want you to negatively influence your seed." She mocked.

It was Fitz that rolled his eyes this time.

"Stop being such a smart ass! Say what you mean."

"Well..."

"_'Well'_ what, Olivia? Don't bite your tongue now."

Olivia shrugged and smirked.

"You see how white children behave in public..."

"Oh! So, now this is a race issue, that's what you're saying?"

"I'm saying that children with parents that whoop their asses don't act the way little Billy does in the grocery store. Or better yet, Lola today. With the way you're going, she'll be cussing you out at ten and pregnant at fifteen."

"Oh come on!" Fitz crowed as he threw his head back. "Spanking is not a trajectory of a child's life."

"Yes, it is! You are _going_ to spank her, Fitzgerald Grant."

"Why would I do that? Using your logic I _shouldn't_ spank her. My parents never hit me and I became the president. What can you say?"

"Your parents not disciplining you is very apparent in your entitled ass, woe is me attitude. And let's not forget the childish tantrums that you throw when you don't get your way, firing anyone that doesn't bend to your will. You have the temperament of a toddler." She scoffed after she finished speaking. "What you're saying is that because my parents properly disciplined me and I became a respectful, well rounded individual but not the president, it doesn't matter. I was just the girl fucking him. Spankings denote mistresses but no spankings get you a president, right?"

"Don't put words in my mouth, Olivia. That's not what I said."

"But you implied it!" She pushed, her anger boiling up again.

"Why are you being so dramatic?!"

"No, I'm being reasonable. She needs to be spanked! You have raised a spoiled brat. If you don't take corrective measures now you'll have a monster on your hands."

"And you don't think that's dramatic?" Fitz asked sarcastically.

"No. 'Whoop her ass or we can start signing divorce papers' is me being dramatic. I'm not going to put up with your brat."

"_My_ brat?!" He boomed with anger. "Just because she got a little testy with you and hurt your feelings, she's _my_ brat?!"

"She didn't hurt my feelings, Fitz. She's disrespectful and rude and I won't tolerate that shit."

Fitz had opened his mouth to respond when Mona spoke up from the doorway.

"Tasha's here, Liv." She quipped looking between the two of them. "She's waiting in the foyer...impatiently, I might add."

Without glancing back at Fitz, Olivia started walking out of the kitchen.

"So, you're just going to leave?" He queried as she reached Mona.

Olivia closed her eyes and sighed before turning to face him.

"I'm not going to argue with you about this anymore. We're just going in circles. You're going to sit down and enjoy the lovely dinner that Hassan made, I'm going to go catch up with Nat and when I get home you can tell me what you've decided."

"Olivia-"

"I'm not arguing with you anymore, remember?" Olivia interrupted before turning away.

Fitz groaned as he threw his head back as Olivia walked out of the kitchen.

"I love you! Be safe!" He shouted.

A faint 'love you, too!' reached him before the sound of the front door slamming. Fitz looked at Mona and shook his head with an eye roll.

She held her laugh as she watched him fix his plate in frustration. It was definitely going to be an adjustment for everyone in the Grant household. Mrs. Olivia Pope Grant was going to reform every single aspect of their daily lives.

* * *

"So, how's my little Sasha?"

Olivia pretended to roll her eyes at Natash. They were sitting in a private room at a jazz club not far from the Grant estate and Olivia couldn't help but be grateful for her best friend.

"My daughter's name is Lola."

"Lola _Natasha_. She likes being called 'Sasha'. She said 'Auntie, we have matching names." Natasha paused, smiling. "Plus, I'm still not over the fact that you named your Black child 'Lola'."

"My name is Olivia!"

"Yes, but there was an Olivia on the Cosby Show. I've never met a Lola that was down with the hood."

"You do remember where we met, right?" Olivia asked facetiously.

"Boarding school in Switzerland." Nat stopped, holding up her hand before Olivia interrupted her. "But I would like to remind you that I was there on scholarship and I thought you were, too. Who knew Black people had that much money?"

Olivia rolled her eyes seriously this time as she sipped her tea.

"Are you ready to talk yet?" Olivia looked up in confusion at Nat's question. "You know what I'm talking about, you and Fitz in a shouting match. I mean, I can keep droning on about how Lola should have been 'Zola' but you seemed agitated in the car."

Olivia chuckled and then sighed in resignation.

"Maybe I should have named her 'Zola'."

"What? That's not how this conversation goes. You're supposed to say 'Fitz was not letting me name his first daughter 'Zola' and then I say 'That's why you should have married a 'FitzGeron and not a Fitzgerald'. Then we laugh at your corny, dorky, White husband."

Olivia gave a small remincent smile with her eyes closed.

"She acts like a Lola. Your little Sasha is definitely a Lola." Olivia paused and took a long drink from her glass, praying that it would suddenly contain alcohol. "I just...I thought things would be different and I thought that she was this perfect, model child. The truth is that she's...not."

"Olivia, you're gonna stop that shit right now."

"Nat-"

"No, I'm serious. Your dad really fucked you up in the head with that 'aim higher' bullshit. You've been a perfectionist since I've met you but you're not going to Eli Pope _my_ godchild."

Olivia shook her head, taking a shaky deep breath.

"I _know_. I know better. I just feel like I failed and I can't do anything about it."

"Failed what, Liv?" Natasha challenged, backing off when she saw Olivia's glassy eyes.

She listened patiently as her best friend gave a synopsis of her day and held her hand as she dabbed at unshed tears.

"I feel stupid for being so upset but it's disconcerting being around them. There's never been a moment in my life where I felt like an outsider and I never thought that the first time would be in my own home. It's just frustrating and...different."

"Fitz and Lola are obviously gonna be different, Liv. The good thing is that you'll be there for the rest of the changes."

"It's not just that. When we started decorating and finally moved into the house, I begged Fitz for days to paint the wall in our sitting room green and he complained up until he did it, through it, and afterward it. I get injured, come back, and the wall is blue."

"Liv..."

"That seems small and inconsequential but there's so many things that I just expected to be the same." Olivia became more hysterical the longer that she spoke, using her hands to illustrate her point. "And then there's Mona walking around, looking like she could be my sister. I heard that you are responsible for that."

Natasha nodded, eyeing Olivia in a way that dared her to challenge her.

"I lived in the house for a month after your accident. I wanted to be a good friend and help with the baby but after a month my job started calling so I had to find someone else because I couldn't trust Fitz's mental state. Mona was good. She is good."

"I'm sure." Olivia replied dryly. "I just want to know has she ever overstepped her boundaries."

"With Lola?" Nat squeaked in surprised.

"Lola _and_ Fitz."

"Mona is a professional!" Nat groaned, throwing her head back

"It's a valid thought process. There's a whole genre of porn based on Dad's hooking up with nannys."

"This isn't porn, Olivia!"

Their waitress walked in at that moment, eyeing the two of them before refilling their drinks and vacating the room. The pair fell out laughing stretching across the circular booth to tap each other before Natasha started speaking.

"Seriously though, I hired Mona because she's not only similar to you in looks but with the way she bonds with Lola as well. Plus, she's on your side in your little debate with Fitz. "

"Well, he's adamant about not touching her so I don't think it matters which side either of us is on."

Natasha shook her head slowly before a look of confusion graced her face.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm incredibly amused by the fact that you threatened to divorce him over this but why didn't you two discuss it before she was even born? That would have made more sense."

"We _did_." Olivia answered slowly. "We decided that discipline was up to me. If I thought she needed to be popped then I had to do it. Fitz's parents were into guilt trips and manipulation so he handed punishment off to me. That's where this while outsider thing comes from. I wish that I could explain it but if I spank her, it will do nothing but create more problems. If I hit her, nothing gets solved."

"I don't get it. What's the difference be you doing it and Fitz doing it? You're both her parents!"

"But it's not...I'm not...it's like I'm the stepmother. I'm responsible for her but we're not far enough along in our relationship for me to discipline outside of Fitz. The stepmother can't come in swinging without there being a problem. A relationship and trust needs to be developed first. I'm still Lola's shiny, new mommy, which was apparent in how upset she got when I tried to give her a chore."

"I guess that makes sense." Natasha mused. "So, what are you going to do?"

"I guess...apologize to Fitz for yelling." Olivia sighed. "And then go lay awkwardly in bed with him until I wake up and it starts all over again. This just affirms what I thought when I got pregnant. I'm not 'mom' or 'wife' material. Her crying this morning made me want to shake her death and Fitz-. "

"Wait, back up! We'll get back to your intrusive thoughts in a minute." Nat yelled in shock. "What do you mean 'lay awkwardly in bed'? You guys didn't fuck last night?!"

"Nat!" Olivia shushed as if someone might overhear them. "If you must know, I was tired and I'm not even sure if he's thinking about sex. On top of that, I'm nowhere near groomed enough to be naked in front of him."

"What?! Liv, of course he's thinking about sex! I bet that his left arm is _way_ more buff than his right." Nat laughed as Olivia rolled her eyes. "I think you should go home, get sexy, and then fuck him to sleep. In the morning you remind him who's boss and tell him that he owes Lola a spanking the next time she acts up."

"So, you want me to seduce my husband as blackmail to get him to whoop our child?" Olivia choked out as she laughed.

"He would fall for it, Liv. Don't laugh! That man would do whatever you say." Natasha paused, scrunching her face in thought. "I bet that when you get home he'll be at the door all apologetic and shit and that he'll have changed his mind on the 'no spanking' front."

"I doubt it but I'll take what you've said under advisement."

"I've missed you." Natasha smiled as she shook her head with mirth.

They both got quiet, reveling in the normalcy, grinning at each other as they snacked on fries.

"I still think that naming her Lola created her behavior issues." Olivia laughed, pushing a crumb around her plate.

"Maybe you're onto to something." Natasha shrugged. "I've always been great as assimilating because White people call me 'Nat'-"

"Hey! I call you 'Nat'!" Olivia interrupted with her arms crossed.

"Like I was _saying_, White people call me 'Nat' and Black people call me 'Tasha' so I can be the CEO at the office and the trap queen in my hood. Lola is always going to be that one spoiled, rich kid."

"Thanks, Natasha." Olivia replied dryly.

"Seriously, Liv, I know that you're adjusting to being home so it's natural for you to latch on to everything that's different and wrong but you guys did good. She's a fantastic kid."

"You think?"

"I _know_." Natasha looked down at her watch before speaking again. "Now, let's get out of here. You need to go home, kiss your baby, and then fuck your man."

* * *

Olivia knew that her new agents had been in communication with Fitz since the moment that she stepped out of the door. They were adamant about keeping eyes on her the entire time and almost refused to let her dine in a private room without them. It should have come as no surprise that Fitz was standing right behind the door as soon as she opened it.

"Fitz?!" Olivia squeaked in shock. "Why the hell are standing there? You startled me."

"I was just waiting for you." He muttered shyly. "I wanted to talk to you."

"About what?"

"How was your outing, first?" Fitz asked, stepping closer. "Did you have a good time with Natasha?"

"It was fine, Fitz. Tell me what's on your mind. You're being fidgety."

"I thought about what you said and you were right." Fitz raised his hands defensively as Olivia opened her mouth to respond. "She does have my temper and her behavior isn't always the best but I didn't ever feel like I could be hard on her about it. I mean...she didn't have a mom and her dad was doing a half-assed job for way too long. The least I could do was give her a moment to be angry or frustrated or whatever it was that she was feeling because she has a right to feel all of those things. I know that that probably wasn't the best approach to take but I didn't want to believe that I'm a bad father."

"I didn't say that, Fitz."

"No, but it was implied and I promise that I'm not mad. I told Lola that as soon as you got home that she had to apologize and that she would be getting a spanking."

"Fitz, I don't want you to spank her if you really don't want to. I don't want you to feel like I forced your hand."

"You didn't!" Fitz shook his head emphatically. "Timeouts clearly aren't working so it wouldn't be fair to dismiss your suggestion without at least trying it once. And it's not like I didn't agree to it before...I just liked the idea better when I wasn't responsible for doing it."

Olivia nodded thoughtfully and stepped forward to place a quick kiss on Fitz's cheek.

"Thank you." She whispered sincerely.

"Now, come on." Fitz demanded, grabbing Olivia's hand to drag her across the foyer towards the stairs. "I have to do it before I lose my nerve."

He pulled her into their bedroom and sat her down on the arm chair near the wall, kissing her forehead before leaving the room. Olivia watched the door in confusion until Fitz returned with Lola in his arms. He sat her down in front of Olivia, placing his hands in her shoulders for comfort.

"Lola, what did you want to tell your mom?"

Lola looked back at Fitz before facing her mother.

"I'm sorry, Momma." Lola said tearfully. "I won't do that anymore. I don't mean to get so upset. Sometimes it just happens and I'm sorry."

"I accept your apology, Sweet Girl. It makes me sad when you behave that way so I want you to do better, okay?"

"Okay." Lola nodded.

Fitz nudged Lola to get her attention. When she turned her head to look at him, he nodded and took a step back. She gave a heavy sigh before bowing her head and looked back at her mother.

"Daddy said I hafta get spanked so I can understand consequences and so I won't get in trouble no more."

"Anymore, Lola." Fitz corrected. "And yes, I am going to spank you so go get a belt."

Lola looked between her parents before disappearing into their closet.

"Fitz!" Olivia hissed. "Making her get her own belt for her first spanking is cruel."

His eyes widened in alarm and worry.

"You didn't give me rules, Olivia! Do I tell her 'nevermind'?!"

"No! You can't backtrack on a punishment. It's fine. She'll be fine."

Fitz began to rub worriedly at his forehead until Lola came back with a thin black belt that had clearly come from Olivia's side of the closet and wouldn't hurt her even if he wanted it to. She handed the thin material to Fitz and then turned towards the bed, placing her hands straight out in front of her to touch it with her eyes closed. Fitz turned to look at Olivia with a dejected expression on his face and waited for her to nod at him before he walked over to Lola. Olivia was biting at her lips to keep from laughing at how serious they were being.

"Okay." Fitz sighed, as he positioned the belt in his hand. "I'm going to hit you ten times."

Olivia shook her head quickly, waving at Fitz to catch his eye.

"I mean...five times?" He said with a cocked eyebrow, waiting for Olivia's affirmative nod. "Yes, five times. Okay."

Olivia watched him take a deep breath and then swung the belt. The leather strip made a smacking sound as it touched the top of Lola's thighs and she immediately began to scream, her face turning red as she sobbed. Fitz gave Olivia look of agony but she knew like he did that Lola was only crying because her feelings, not her legs, were hurt. The belt had only hit her hard enough to be felt through her flannel pajama pants but not hard enough to hurt and Fitz knew that all five licks needed to be dealt to prove his point. Olivia watched as Fitz grazed Lola's pajama pants four more times before he declared that he was done. He went to hug her but Olivia shook her head and mouthed 'it's confusing'. Lola kept her shoulders hunched as she sobbed hysterically, avoiding eye contact with her father.

"Come here, Lola. Come give mommy a hug."

Lola ran into her arms, wrapping herself around her mother as she sobbed into her chest. Olivia began to brush Lola's hair away from her face and whisper into her ear to calm her. She looked up to find Fitz staring at her incredulously, his arms outstretched in confusion. Olivia raised her eyebrows in jest as she murmured to her baby girl and waited for her to calm down.

"You okay, Lol?" Olivia asked as she ran her hand up and down Lola's back.

Lola nodded as she sniffled.

"I want you to go hug Daddy, okay?"

Lola nodded again and then slid off of Olivia's lap. She slowly made her way to her father and wrapped her arms around his legs. Fitz lifted her into his arms in an instant and cradled her to him.

"I still love you, Daddy." Lola muttered against Fitz's neck, causing Olivia to chuckle at the way her words melted him.

Fitz kissed her face and caressed her head until she started to yawn and he knew it was way passed bedtime. After she gave one more kiss and hug to her mother, Fitz carried her to bed, praying that he would never have to spank her again.

* * *

When Fitz came back into their bedroom 20 minutes later, Olivia had showered and was propped on the bed in only his shirt. He couldn't help but do a double take as he closed the door.

"You're a traitor, you know that?" Fitz asked as he walked closer to the bed.

Olivia cocked her head and raised her eyebrows.

"You made me spank her and then you got to be the good guy and give her a hug afterwards."

"You would have been sending mixed signals if you had hugged her first." She defended, her pitch rising as she argued. "But I'm still proud of you."

"Really?"

"Mhm." Olivia nodded as she began to pat the open space in the bed. "You're a good dad and 'Daddy Fitz' is _very_ sexy."

"You're turned on by me hitting our daughter?" Fitz asked dubiously as he sat next to her, rubbing his hand up and down her exposed thigh.

"No, don't make it weird." Olivia snapped and brushed his hand off of her. "Everything that I love about you is magnified a thousand times when you're with her. That makes me love you more than I ever thought possible and it also gets me very hot."

"Oh." Fitz smirked, leaning over to kiss the side of her neck, making her giggle. "I have a question then."

"Fitz, don't make it weird."

"Who turns you on more, 'Daddy' or 'Mr. President'?" He asked as he rolled on top of her.

"See! You made it weird. 'Daddy' stopped being an option when we had child calling you that. It's no longer sexy when a toddler says it and I immediately think of orgasms."

Fitz laughed and made himself comfortable between her legs.

"So, does that mean that spankings are out, too?"

"I'll think about it." Olivia answered, wrinkling her nose.

Fitz leaned closer to her as one of his hands started to wander.

"I have a disclaimer!" Olivia blurted as Fitz moved in for a kiss. "Things are a little different-"

"Liv, it's barely been two years, less if you want to be technical. I know that Lola's bigger and you're trying to adjust but I promise that I'll catch you up on everything." Fitz interrupted, misinterpreting what she's said.

"No, that's not what I meant." Olivia hesitated, pushing him back a so that he was holding himself up on his hands instead of his elbows. "What I'm saying is that...things don't look the way they did the last time that we...so, yeah, I just wanted you to have some warning. Things aren't as tidy as you're used to."

"Olivia Grant. Are you embarrassed about body hair?"

"Olivia _Pope_."

"We can debate that later. You're avoiding."

"I'm not embarrassed!" She argued loudly. "You know, I don't have to let you fuck me."

"Liv, I just-"

Olivia groaned as he spoke to interrupt him.

"You can keep talking and I can go to sleep or you can take this shirt off and we can have some fun. It's your call."

"Livvie," Fitz started as Olivia rolled her eyes into the back of her head, hoping that he'd just get started. "I just wanted to say that I love you...and you make me immeasurably happy."

"Yeah?" Olivia questioned with a bright smile. "Even though I made you spank Lola?"

"Yeah, even though you made me spank Lola." He said with a wry grin. "And you know what else?"

"No, what?"

"I can't wait to discover new things about you. No matter what it is."

Olivia reached up to caress his cheek as he stared down at her.

"I love you, too." She answered before placing a lingering kiss on his lips.

It didn't take long for the shirt that she was wearing to end up on the floor, with her head thrown back into the pillows, her fingers clawing at Fitz's back, his body meshed with hers in an all night expedition.

* * *

So...how'd you like it? I want to ask you guys how you feel about physical discipline. I don't have children so I just assume that I'll spank my future spawns because I was spanked but is anyone super opposed to it? Has anyone found an alternative that they think is better than spanking? I'd love to know you thoughts and opinions, especially in regards to Olitz's little argument.

I want to address 2 reviews publicly since I think that my answer may be of some benefit to all of my readers.

The first was a review that I got recently, asking me if I was going to stop updating my stories in light of the last episode. The answer to that question is no. Some people may feel some type of way about this but I could not stand the show after the 3rd season and have not watched an episode since. I know very little (practically nothing) about what has happened afterwards and I would like to remain in the dark because canon Scandal irritates the hell out of me. With that said, I don't know what happened in the episode that has everyone so upset but I'll still be here updating because as much as the show gets on my nerves, I'll always love season 1-2 Olitz and the potential that the characters had.

The second review was someone asking for a timeline so, here it is:

2006: Fitz and Olivia meet (like in canon Scandal Fitz is married to Mellie but they only have Gerry, there is no Karen or Teddy. No reason for that other than I wanted Lola to be his first daughter and I didn't want to write two small children.)

2007: Fitz is elected POTUS

2008: Beginning of his first term / Olivia quits and opens OPA

2011: Fitz files for divorce (a la season 2 finale before stuff went stupid), Olivia gets pregnant, she moves into the WH after he is reelected for a second term

2012: Fitz is sworn in for a second time / Olitz marries / Lola is born

2014: Fitz builds Vermont-esque house in D.C. so Olivia can still work at OPA after his second term

2015: Olivia and Lola transition into the new house before the end of Fitz's presidency

2016: Olivia's accident takes place in January shortly after the new president has been sworn in

2017: Olivia wakes up (Present Day)

The story is currently at the end of 2017 so it hasn't been a full two years but everyone is rounding up two or three months give or take.

Unfortunately, this will be the last update of the year because after my finals in the next couple of days, I'll be off to Italy, France, and England (so if anyone lives in London/Paris and wants to let me crash for a night or hang out, hit me up lol). I also want to work on updating 'Red' pretty soon so I will be updating that before I update this story again.

I'm sending out previews again for the next chapter so as long as you have an account I can send you a little sneak peak before I update. Just add 'preview' to your review.

Thank you for reading! See you next year!

Reviews are appreciated

3 BiJan


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